Editors Note: This is NOT a paid political advertisement or endorsed by anyone other than the writer / author of this blog. On Monday, August 19th, Democratic Presidential candidate Julián Castro unveiled a platform focused on advancing the welfare of animals around the globe, both domestic and wildlife. It would raise standards for factory farms […]

They said it couldn’t happen. They said wild salmon would never breach penned-up fish farms. They were wrong. And that’s a big problem. On June 11, 2019, members from the ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ / Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, including Tribal Parks Guardians and members of the Clayoquot Sound Indigenous Salmon Alliance, boarded and inspected open net pen […] […]

President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency has escalated tensions all across the southern border. The large majority of residents who live near the Mexican border don’t want the Wall built. Their reasons include fear of the government’s use of eminent domain, the high probability of flooding from a built wall, concern of escalating tensions […] […]

Just when you thought your food choices were clear and safe. UK firm The John Innes Centre has applied for permission to plant experimental genetically modified wheat and broccoli in open fields at their farm outside Norwich, in the United Kingdom. The research company hopes to begin two small-scale field trials in April. In 2017, […]

When you consider our nation’s health, the quality of our food, its decreasing nutritional value and the increased degradation of our farmland, it’s not a pretty picture — and the challenges related to these issues keep growing. By 2050 the world’s population will likely reach close to 9 billion people. To feed everyone, we’ll need […]

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The U.S. government has done something that consumers have been pushing them to do for years. The Transportation Department has ordered airlines to let passengers stuck in stranded airplanes to deplane after three hours.

Until now, airlines have had complete say-so as to when or if stranded passengers can deplane, no matter how many hours their plane sits in line on the tarmac. Today, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the three-hour limit and other new passenger protections long fought for by consumer advocates. This year, from January to June, 613 planes were delayed on tarmacs for more than three hours, with passengers kept on board.

Under the new rule, airlines must provide food and water for passengers within two hours of a plane being delayed on a tarmac and maintain operable lavatories. They must also provide medical attention when necessary.

For those who remember the TV series LA Law, there was an apisode on this exact topic (“The Plane Mutiny”, 1989). One of the attorneys was stranded on the tarmac for hours and finally had to threaten a major lawsuit in order to get himself off the plane. Nice to know that the government has finally listened, even if it’s been quite a few years in the making.